Nicolas Cage to Play ‘Tiger King’s Joe Exotic In Scripted Series

If you were going to make a fictional version of Netflix’s wildly popular Tiger King, who could possibly play Joe Exotic? There are not too many actors who could fully capture his contradictions; his weird personality quirks, his intense obsessions, his love of big cats, and his love of big mullets. Really the first that comes to mind — maybe the only one that comes to mind is Nicolas Cage.

And sure enough ... that exactly who has been cast in a new fictional Joe Exotic series. According to Variety we will soon see Nicolas Cage as Joe Exotic. The mind truly boggles:

The eight-episode series is being produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios. It will be taken to market in the coming days. It is based on the Texas Monthly article “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild,” by Leif Reigstad.

The series will reportedly follow “Joe Schreibvogel, a.k.a Joe Exotic, an eccentric, exotic zookeeper in Oklahoma who fights to keep his park even at the risk of losing his sanity. The series will live in the lion’s den with Joe, explore how he became Joe Exotic, and how he lost himself to a character of his own creation.” This is the second scripted Tiger King series in the works; SNL’s Kate McKinnon is attached to a show based on the Joe Exotic podcast. She’s expected to play Exotic’s nemesis, Carole Baskin.

As for this show, its Joe Exotic will be Nicolas Cage’s first major TV role. It’s hard to imagine a better one for him. Bleach that hair, grow it out in the back, and let him go.